General-purpose humanoid robots using AI are advancing and increasingly gaining investment support to perform tasks that humans do easily. According to SkyQuest Technology Research, the humanoid robot market size was valued at $1.48 billion in 2021, and projected to grow from $42.10 billion in 2022 to $34.96 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 42.1% in the forecast period of 2023-2030.
Much of the growth is coming from the realities of the rising aging population, fueling demand for humanoid robots for personal assistance, caregiving, education and medical sectors. However we are now starting to see more announcements of humanoid robots to provide support in the manufacturing and transportation and logistics sectors as well.
Most recently, Apptronik, a leader in next-generation general purpose humanoid robots announced that it has entered into an agreement with Mercedes-Benz to collaborate on identifying applications for highly advanced robotics in Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing. Mercedes-Benz is exploring potential use cases for Apollo humanoid robots in logistics to bring parts to the production line for workers to assemble, the so-called delivery of assembly kits, while simultaneously inspecting the components. Apollo will also be used to deliver the totes of kitted parts later in the manufacturing process. The addition of humanoid robots to factories and plants would allow organizations like Mercedes-Benz to deploy robotics that are optimized to perform in spaces that are designed for humans, thus avoiding full-scale facility redesigns that are built around robots rather than people. In short, this approach centers on automating some physically demanding, repetitive and dull tasks for which it is increasingly hard to find reliable workers.
According to Jörg Burzer, member of the board of management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Production, Quality & Supply Chain Management, "To build the most desirable cars we continually evolve the future of automotive production: Advancements in robotics and AI open up new opportunities also for us. We are exploring new possibilities with the use of robotics to support our skilled workforce in manufacturing. This is a new frontier and we want to understand the potential both for robotics and automotive manufacturing to fill labor gaps in areas such as low skill, repetitive and physically demanding work and to free up our highly skilled team members on the line to build the world's most desirable cars.”
Other companies advancing in their humanoid robots include car makers from Honda, and Hyundai have been experimenting with humanoid robots to perform repetitive and dangerous work in assembly lines for years. Tesla also released Optimus Gen 2, and Elon Musk has also predicted a billion humanoid robots on earth in the 2040s.
BMW Manufacturing also announced in January its plans to to deploy the Figure humanoid robots in their car maker's facility in the U.S., as more companies turn to human-like robots to take on certain physical tasks. Figure's humanoids will be deployed in BMW's new manufacturing facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the largest automotive exporter in the U.S., which currently employees 11,000 people. They are planned to be integrated into the manufacturing processes including the body shop, sheet metal and warehouse in the next 12-24 months, after being trained to perform specific tasks.
“The use of general purpose robot solutions has the potential to make productivity more efficient, to support the growing demands of our consumers, and to enable our team to focus on the transformation ahead of us,” said Robert Engelhorn, president and CEO, BMW Manufacturing.
Looking ahead and imaging a world where man and machine are integrated into all industries is a daunting image of what is well underway and certainly will come.
Will we face massive unemployment due to robotics and AI or find an ethical balance between man and machine?
Bernie Sanders’ new proposed 32-hour work bill is recognizing that AI and robotics will have a profound impact on many jobs, especially in the manufacturing sector as humanoid bots take on increasingly dangerous tasks. With so much investment pouring in and the market outlook, Elon Musk’s vision of our future is not to go unnoticed.
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